One more wall in Europe: Estonia to build fence along Russian border

Estonia said this week that it plans to erect barriers along most of its 110-kilometer (70-mile) frontier with Russia. Interior ministry spokesman Toomas Viks said the project has been contemplated since last year. (Deutsche Welle)

It will be span two-thirds of the Estonian-Russian border, and its construction is scheduled to start in 2018. The project’s cost is estimated at 71 million euros.

“The aim of the construction is to cover the land border with 100 percent, around-the-clock technical surveillance to create ideal conditions for border guarding and to ensure the security of Estonia and the Schengen area“, Estonian Interior Minister spokesman said. (France24)

Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Parliament’s International Committee advised Tallinn to use the money spent on the wall to solve Estonia’s economic problems rather than erecting “an ideological monument with no practical purpose.” (The Baltic Times)

Estonia is neither the richest nor the biggest European country, but what it lacks in wealth and size, the little Baltic nation compensates with its strong anti-Russian rhetoric, Russian Agency Sputnik News commented.